Six River Farm is an organic vegetable farm located along the shores of Merrymeeting Bay in Bowdoinham. It is owned and operated by Gabrielle Gosselin and Nate Drummond (as well as junior farmers Alice (4) and Quincy (1)). We farm fields located off Center’s Point Rd and Brown’s Point Rd. The farm produces a wide range of vegetables for sale year round. 100% of our produce is sold locally, primarily at farmers’ markets in Brunswick and to grocery stores and restaurants in the greater Brunswick-Freeport area.
We moved to Bowdoinham and started Six River Farm in 2007 after seeing an advertisement from George Christopher listing farmland and barn space for rent off the Brown’s Point Road. The original parcel of farmland we leased was part of the Kelly Farm, owned by the Kelly family and previously farmed by Ransom Kelly, Harry Prout and Brian Dennison. In 2017 the Kelly family decided to sell the Kelly Farm property and we joined with five other local farmers who were already leasing different sections of the property to form Browne’s Point Farmland, LLC in order to collectively purchase the property. The property is protected by as easement which restricts future development and preserves the open farmland for agricultural use.
Over the years we have also purchased a house and farmland on Center’s Point Rd and leased several fields from neighbors on Center’s Point Rd, Lee and Shirley Tracy and Frank and Jane Connors. All of our fields are situated along the shore of Merrymeeting Bay and are comprised of deep alluvial silt loam soils. These soils and our mild Maine summers and falls offer prime growing conditions for a range of vegetable crops, particularly leafy greens, broccoli, celery and carrots. We utilize a range of hoophouse structures on the farm to provide protected growing environments for fragile crops such as tomatoes and strawberries as well as winter growing space for cold-hardy greens throughout the winter. All of our production is certified organic and we believe that the location of our fields along the shore Merrymeeting Bay requires a strong commitment to environmental stewardship in order to protect the amazing natural ecosystems that surround us, as well as the health of our family and employees.
As our farm has grown over the years, so have a number of wonderful people who help us each year. Currently we employ 8 employees year-round and add another 12-15 seasonal employees spring through fall. All of our employees live locally, with many of them living in Bowdoinham. It is the exceptional hard work and dedication of these employees that allow us to grow and distribute 20 acres of vegetables to our local community.
We also work closely with both the Merrymeeting Gleaners and Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program to provide excess produce to those in need in our community. The Merrymeeting Gleaners come out to our farm on a weekly basis throughout the growing season to glean extra produce from our fields and distribute it to a range of organizations in our area. In addition, this year we will be growing a full bed of carrots for donation to the MHPP. If you are interested in volunteering for either project, please contact us for more information.
We are proud members of BCDI and believe in it’s mission to provide support and financing for the business community in Bowdoinham. Bowdoinham is an amazing community in which to live and farm and we are very grateful for the widespread support we have received through the years from other farmers and neighbors. To us BCDI represents the best of Bowdoinham, a town wide effort to facilitate local business and community development in ways that align with our values as a community.